Will Michael Floyd and Kyle Rudolph Stay at Notre Dame or Go to the NFL?

Over the years, players have left school early to enter the NFL draft for various reasons—family stability, better draft positioning, and sometimes bad advice from those around them.

Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate are recent examples, Darius Walker went undrafted after declaring himself eligible for the 2007 draft, and Raghib Ismail left school after finishing second in the Heisman Trophy voting and had a solid career in the Canadian Football League as well as the NFL.

Every situation is different, every family has needs, and a lot of advisers claim to have the best interest of the student athlete in mind.

Receiver Michael Floyd and tight-end Kyle Rudolph are two separate individuals playing different positions, but both have an incredible amount of talent and would likely end up as late first-round to early second-round picks in this year's draft.

That being said, this is no ordinary year—an NFL lockout seems almost a certainty as the players and owners are not even in sit-down negotiations and are literally miles apart.

Both Michael Floyd and Kyle Rudolph would benefit greatly by returning to school and having productive senior seasons, here are the reasons why.

Reason 1

 Both Floyd and Rudolph would improve their prospective draft positioning with a productive senior campaign.

There are three receivers slated to be drafted ahead of Floyd right now—AJ Green (Georgia), Julio Jones (Alabama) and Jonathan Baldwin (Pittsburgh).

Although Rudolph was an early front-runner to be in the race for the John Mackey Award, his nagging hamstring injury derailed his season when his leg finally gave way in early October.

Although both were slated as first-rounders prior to the season, unfortunate circumstances have lowered both of their stocks.

One of the sticking points between the NFL owners and the Players Association is a structured salary similar to what the NBA has in place.

By improving their draft positions both players would make up some of the money that they would lose under the structured formula.

Reason 2

Another topic in negotiations is an 18-game regular season schedule for the NFL.

Floyd and Rudolph have both had injury issues over the past three seasons.

By returning next season and remaining healthy through a 12-game season and a bowl game, both could prove that they are durable enough to sustain a grueling 18-game NFL regular season.

Floyd missed the final two games of his freshman season, five games in his sophomore year and one game this season, although he could have been used if needed against Navy.

In 2008, Rudolph became the first tight end in Notre Dame history to start every game as a freshman; as a sophomore he missed two games with a shoulder injury.

This season he has been sidelined since season-ending hamstring surgery following the Pittsburgh game.

Reason 3

Sometimes when a new coach takes over a team during an established player's career, the player or players do not fit into the new system.

In the case of Floyd and Rudolph it is the exact opposite—both players thrive in Coach Kelly's spread offense.

Kyle Rudolph was on pace to double his career bests in receiving yards, touchdowns and receptions. He was also averaging 11.7 yards per reception, which was right on line with his career numbers.

Floyd has prospered also, with career highs in receptions, yards per reception and touchdowns.

His average yards per catch went from 18.1 in 2009 to 12.5 this season, but this is a direct result of Jimmy Clausen jumping to the NFL.

Kelly's offense is geared to these types of players. While Rudolph would remain consistent next season, Floyd would certainly reach new heights after another spring training with either Dayne Crist, Tommy Rees or the rifle-armed Andrew Hendrix.

Loyalty to Notre Dame and keeping the graduation rate at the level that has become standard are additional reasons to come back for one more year.

At a rate of 96 percent, Notre Dame is tied with Duke for the the highest graduation rate in the nation.

These men also have the chance to be mentors to some of the future leaders of Irish football.

Although these reasons seem unrealistic in an era where dollars are more important than sense, we have to remember that this is Notre Dame—home to some of the brightest students in the nation, a place where decisions are sometimes made from the heart, not the pocketbook.

This team is on the cusp of something special, and Floyd and Rudolph coming back next season would cement their legacy as founding fathers of the next generation of greatness.